Overdrawn
by ashehole
Summary: When her twin brother is selected by their father to attend an academy to learn the human heart with other gods plucked from their homes, Artemis decides that she's not about to let him go alone - even if that means she has to leave her forest behind. Slight Yui/Apollon, eventual Yui/Artemis.
1. Overrun

**Note:** Based off a prompt I received on Tumblr about how I would imagine Artemis in the KamiAso universe through Apollon's route from before the game to after. It became a larger project than one fic would allow. Also based more on the Apollon game route.

* * *

There was a great crashing that swept through the underbrush of her forest, scattering leaves in the wind that this fumbling idiot made. A herd of deer that had been soaking in the peace and quiet immediately took off in a frenzy, and the ears of her wolves flicked with irritation. Prey was running that they weren't meant to be chasing right now. An intruder had come into their mistress' forest.

Leaning down, Artemis ran her fingers through the thick coat of the silver wolf at her feet. "Easy now, girl. We all know who it is."

It was hard to mistake the blazing heat of her brother, the way he brightened everything around him. Even if she was annoyed by his appearance, a small smile still tugged unbidden at her lips.

She was a sucker for the idiot, after all.

"Apollon," she said in greeting as she rose from the forest floor. The smile immediately died when she took him in, the frantic mess of his golden hair, the despair in his eyes as he found her. "What happened?"

As though he couldn't bare to stand any longer, he fell to his hands and knees, fingers digging into the ground below him. She paused. Her brother was often prone to bouts of overemotional hysterics. He was the storm to her calm, a whirlwind of joy and hot anger and passion. But seeing him this way, something plucking at her that said there was something very _wrong_, had the fire of rage moving through her body.

Kneeling before him, her cool hands cupped his warm face and tilted it up until he was looking at her. "What's wrong with you?"

"Daphne," he moaned. "Daphne's what's wrong with me."

Artemis squinted for a moment, trying to recall any mentions of this Daphne before now. Her brother took many lovers, too many to bother keeping track of. A frown tugged at her mouth, and she didn't resist rolling her eyes.

"Scorned again, huh?" She patted his cheek gently. "Apollon-"

_"No."_ The look he gave her was fierce and dark, golden gaze meeting her silver one. "She asked to become a tree to escape me!"

The corners of her mouth twitched, but more out of humor than anything else. The rage that had begun to burn in the pit of her stomach ebbed away. This was a typical hurt for her brother, something she couldn't save him from.

"So you came to my forest to seek comfort? Where there are trees?"

He glared at her for half a second before puffing out a sad sigh. "Not her tree."

"You're a big baby," Artemis murmured, brushing her fingers through his messy hair. He sighed again before flopping completely to the ground, his head in her lap.

It was the same, as it always was. He'd hide away from the world in her forest where nobody came, nursing his broken heart. And then he would leave, all smiles and excitement, ready for the next lover that would pull his attention.

She stroked his hair, humming lightly.

This was why she didn't want to be attached to men, to fall under this dangerous spell of love and heartbreak. Why bother when she could have the solitude of the hunt, to run with her wolves and enjoy the company of her nymphs instead?

She wondered, as she always did in these moments, if perhaps Apollon sped through love as much as he did because he was making up for her lack of it. As if in the womb, he'd been able to take that from her and kept it all for himself. Not an impossibility, she believed.

"My legs are falling asleep," she finally said to him.

"Just a little bit longer," he pleaded.

And as always, she gave in to her younger brother.

"Is he here?"

Artemis glanced up from the bow she had been restringing, silver brow furrowing. This guest had come in more quietly than she had expected, and she wasn't too keen on unexpected guests that weren't Apollon.

A familiar golden gaze stared back at her, crowned by garish red. "Well?"

"I don't recall inviting you over for a chat, Dionysus," she said pleasantly. Her fingers plucked at the string of her bow. It sent a twang through the leaves.

"I know, I'm intruding on your land, you're an excellent shot," Dionysus muttered, his hand moving for emphasis. He took a sip from the goblet permanently attached to his hand. "I came to see Apollon."

Artemis got to her feet, not that it was impressive. She was small and slight in comparison to her half-brother, after all, but they both knew she could easily wipe the floor with him, so there was some comfort to that. "What do you want with him?"

"You can't keep coddling him every time he goes and makes a mistake," the god of wine whispered, bending down so that he was eye level with her.

Her lips thinned out, pale face tinged pink with rage. "I don't coddle him. I'm letting him heal. It's not like I go after him to bring him here."

Dionysus frowned. With a growl, she shoved her hand into his shoulder, moving past him. Perhaps it was because he was drunk - which would explain why he would ever dare come to her forest - but his hand snaked out then, fingers wrapping tightly around her wrist.

"He terrified that poor nymph, and it's not the first time he's-"

"Let go of me, brother, or I'll make your life absolutely miserable," she whispered hotly. There would be satisfaction in letting her rage go, in washing the world into darkness and breaking her brother in half. But she was still worried for her twin, didn't want to upset him anymore than he already was.

And she didn't want him to find the two siblings he loved the most fighting with each other, either.

Dionysus laughed, a sad sort of smile resting on his lips. "Artemis, that's a little overdramatic."

She scowled. "So what if it is?"

It wasn't as though she disliked Dionysus. He was nice enough, when his parties didn't get out of hand, his nymphs carousing in her forests and disturbing her peace. But she was a solitary creature, and the only person she ever wanted to deal with was her moron of a twin brother. They were night and day, the sun and the moon. What use did she have with anyone else?

"You two are more alike than you like to pretend." His hand dropped from her wrist. "I'm not trying to insult you here, but he can't just hide every time he gets hurt. Or hurts someone else in return."

"Oh, like you're one to talk," Artemis huffed with a wave of her hand.

"I rarely regret anything I do. I think it's the wine." He swirls the cup in his hand before holding it out to her. "It's my best batch in years."

"Oh, did you bring that for me?" came a happy voice suddenly. Apollon appeared, grabbing the cup before Artemis could even decline. He drained it while she watched with a frown.

How long had he been there? How much had he heard?

Dionysus arched an eyebrow at him. "We could have shared that," he said with a heavy sigh, taking back his glass with a pout.

"Get more, and let's share!" Apollon wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders, tugging him further in Artemis' sanctuary while she watched on and gritted her teeth.

And that was how, despite having no invitation extended by her, Dionysus ended up staying with them as well. It was just more thing she couldn't deny Apollon, as much as she would have liked to. To make up for the overabundance of others in her home, she spent as much time as she could hunting. Each night, she would bring fresh meat home, and they would share a meal together.

It was comfortable, she found herself thinking. There was something enjoyable about having her loud, rowdy brothers to spend the nights with. At the same time, though, she couldn't wait until they were gone and she had her solitude again.

For gods, time seemed to move at a different pace than for mortals. What was a second to a human could be a lifetime for a god and vice versa. Artemis couldn't say how long Apollon and Dionysus hid in her forest (and what, exactly, the hypocritical god was hiding from in the first place), but it could have been eons. It could have been weeks. It was too long and too short all at once.

"Maybe it's time to rejoin everything," Dionysus spoke up during dinner one night. They had been silent otherwise, with nothing but starlight and the occasional hoot of an owl for enjoyable company.

His gaze flickered to Apollon, who in turn stared at Artemis, as if she were the deciding factor in all of this. As if he were torn between the safety her presence provided him and the allure of everything that waited for him outside of her trees.

She wanted nothing more than to stay silent. Dionysus' words still weighed on her, even if she didn't believe that she was _coddling_ her brother. He'd have to grow up some time, she knew that. They were the same age and yet infinitely apart all at once.

Artemis speared a chunk of the rabbit she had caught earlier that day, moving her silver gaze from the fire to her twin instead. "The sun needs to be carried again," was what she decided on. "You can't keep dodging your responsibility as the sun god, Apollon."

His bottom lip jutted out into a pout. "I didn't mean to. The sun still rises-"

"But with no real direction," she pointed out, hating the twist in her gut at his sad face. He was like a small pup, hopeless in his endeavors and too eager to please those around him.

Dionysus clapped Apollon on the back. "I'll throw a party and you can ogle my nymphs without worrying if they're going to put your eye out."

Artemis turned a narrowed gaze on her half-brother. "I knew that black eye of yours wasn't from stumbling into a tree."

"I was drunk."

"I've got another eye of yours I can put out," she threatened in a low growl.

Dionysus paled considerably while Apollon laughed.

It felt good, Artemis decided, to hear that from her brother. It lit up the forest and warmed her, and she couldn't help the small smile on her lips as she turned back to look at him. He was extremely lucky that she loved him, that was all she could say.

Reaching out, he took her hand, golden tattoos flashing against her white ones. He was warm where she was cool, and she reveled in the feeling of being attached to him once more before he went off and wooed more lovers and broke more hearts and had his own broken again in return.

"One last night with Artemis then," Apollon cheered.

"Maybe our dear sister will even accept my cup," Dionysus offered once more.

With a grin, she took it from him and drained it. "I've had better."

It was worth seeing the dark look that came over his face.

She knew that she would miss the both of them when tomorrow came.


	2. Cassandra

"I was told I'd find you here."

Sadly enough in this case, her brother didn't seem all that surprised to find her sneaking up on him. He glanced at her over his shoulder, golden mane tumbling around. A grin spread across his lips at the sight of her, a kind of light coming to life on his face. His warmth spread to her, and she couldn't help but smile back.

It was madness, of course. That was love. It was mad and sick and made even the wisest of men into morons. A day had not gone by that she could say she regretted her decision to not be bound to men.

"You're lying." He waggled his finger at her. "You didn't ask anyone where I was, you just followed me."

"You've been overshadowing the moon," Artemis grumbled in complaint, but it was a false sort of irritation, easily broken when he wrapped his arm around her waist and swung her around. Pale braid arced through the air. "Put me down!" But she was laughing, one arm easily slung around his broad shoulders, and she had no desire for her bare feet to touch the ground again.

"I'm so happy my big sister decided to come out of her forest for just me," he puffed out, a sort of happiness she never understood making him brighter, warmer.

Her fingers slid over his cheek, cupping it gently as he held her off of the ground still. "I've never felt you this way before," she had to admit.

To be fair, she had seen the way he lit up and scorched the earth during his countless trysts, but she had never seen the glowing effects in person. Had never even thought about leaving the solitude of her home to seek him out. Had never really wanted to know what love could be like when she had seen how low it brought Apollon, too. Just looking at him, though, had her stomach in knots, her heart racing like a rabbit's during the hunt.

"You like it?" Apollon finally lowered her back to the dirt, and she was comforted by the firmness of the earth, its uncaring nature of love and heartbreak.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that it wouldn't last; it never did. Not with mortals, whom he was so fascinated with. It was an overwhelming feeling, of course, fear and worry and that bothersome coddling nature of hers that she still tried to ignore. He would get hurt, and others would hurt in return. That was Apollon's fate, she feared.

"Like sitting in a hot spring after a good hunt," she whispered instead, a smile firmly planted on her mouth.

He traced the line of her lips, tilting his head like a pup who didn't understand a command. "You're smiling like you're in love yourself, you know. Maybe you need to get out more and let someone in for a change. You're the most beautiful goddess when you smile."

One hand went hard into his shoulder, and he jerked back with a laugh. "Are you saying I'm not more beautiful when I scowl?"

"I wouldn't want to insult the others, would I?"

With a roll of her eyes, she threaded her arm through Apollon's and tugged him down the knoll they had met on, toward his temple in the city of Troy. "Tell me, which one has caught your eye? Which one are you madly in love with again?"

He bent down, so that his whisper was against her cheek. "Each time I fall in love is new, Artemis."

"And each of them are so very lovely, gifted, and different," she teased.

His smile dropped, a serious and hurt expression replacing it instead. She felt a pang of instantaneous loss. As if he didn't have enough problems with love as it was, here she was, making it that much worse. "You would know if you loved."

And that stabbed her deeply, almost made her bow over from the blow. She stared straight ahead, silver gaze trained on the courtyard of the temple. "I love," she protested.

What a strange twist the conversation had taken. A painful one. One insult traded for another because of the one thing neither of them could understand about each other. She didn't take lovers, but she loved.

She loved her forests and the animals and the shining beacon of hope her moon represented to the people. She loved her nymphs and priestesses, women who shed their shackles and ran free. She loved her brother, a slave to love like no other she had met before.

"You don't love like this. You'll understand when you do." A small smile wormed its way back onto his face, and the vise gripping her chest eased. He pressed a small kiss to her temple. All forgiven.

They hid among the trees of a grove planted in the courtyard, and they hummed pleasantly at Artemis while Apollon frowned his discontent at their existence. New love or not, he was still smarting over Daphne and all the other plants in his life. She tucked herself into his side, ducking under his arm to spy on the girl from afar. There were a number of them, silly little girls in pale dresses and gold adornments, hair of all shades and textures and length.

Any of them could be the one her brother had picked out.

"Which is it, Apollon?"

"There, sister." He took her chin gently in his hand, directing her sight toward the small girl with dark curls pinned to her head, revealing an elegant neck and shoulders left bare. She was young, but there was a soft look to her. Kind. The way she held herself was imperious.

Her brother's type.

"You've fallen in love with a princess of Troy?" Artemis laughed softly.

As if she could hear them, the Princess Cassandra glanced over her shoulder to the copse of trees where two gods hid themselves. Her dark brow furrowed, a scowl twitching at her lips.

"She is beautiful," Artemis commented.

The smile Apollon wore was dreamy. "She is mine, and I am hers."

The goddess glanced between her brother and the mortal girl, a swell of confusion in her. Perhaps it was because she didn't know her as her brother did - if he knew her at all. Daphne was still quite the topic of conversation among the nature gods - but she didn't feel like she was much of anything to have ownership over a god declared.

Even if it was the god himself declaring it.

"Does she know this?"

"She will." He straightened himself out. "I have seen it."

Artemis cast another dubious glance in Cassandra's direction. If he had seen himself with her in the future, then maybe he was right. Perhaps it was simply jealousy that made her worried that things would go wrong. The gnawing in her gut made her feel sick, but she would ignore it for the time.

"And what, exactly, makes her different than all the others? Than all the women and boys you have fancied?"

"She will have my visions, too," was all her brother simply said.

Surely that couldn't go wrong.

Curiosity was the biggest reason that Artemis remained outside of her forest for larger chunks of time than usual. Some days, she would just watch her brother fawn over the princess. She was more interested in Cassandra, though, the way she reacted to the attentions of a god, how well she would fare in comparison to the string of lovers Apollon had left behind him.

"Spying is unbecoming of you."

She stilled, muscles frozen as her eyes widened a fraction. If she turned her head, even just a bit, she would see him. Her father. Apollon's father. The father of so many gods and mortals, really. Carefully, she arranged her features into a mask of neutrality as she turned to Zeus.

"Are you lecturing me about morals, Father?" There was a teasing lilt to her voice, a lightness she had to force. Apollon was much better at this than she was. He was better at pleasing the people around them, even those who didn't deserve his kindness.

Artemis? She had to work hard to not piss off people. Too much work. It was why she liked to hide away. How stupid of her to think she could spend so much time in Troy and escape her father's attention.

"Would you listen to such a lecture?" He gave her a congenial smile. Something about it made her relax, like there was a fraction of her brother in that look.

Zeus was the kind of father nobody wished for, but Artemis didn't hate him. She didn't care. He was their king, a god of gods. She held the bare minimum of respect for him, as both king and father, but beyond that, she had long since tried to ignore him. He did his best to do the same.

Apollon was the golden son, and Artemis was just another goddess, a hermit who drove the moon.

"Probably not, no," she admitted. Her body turned so that she was facing him completely. "Have I done something that requires your attention?"

Zeus was quiet, a serious look flashing in his eyes as he took her in. She stared back impassively, one eyebrow arching in question.

"You always were impertinent. More like Dionysus than Apollon," he sighed.

Her nose wrinkled. "I'm nothing like Dionysus."

"Athena then. You two are similar enough."

She gave him a dirty look this time. "Because we are women who refuse men?"

A smirk played on his lips, too much like Apollon's and hers and Dionysus'. "Because you both feel the need to stare at me like I'm a bug."

"Ah, yes. In that regard, my sister and I are very much alike."

But he didn't come to talk about family resemblance, and she knew that. What she couldn't figure out was what it was that he was here for, why he would come to bother her. Was it simply because Apollon was busy at the moment, and he had to bother someone else for company? She narrowed her gaze at him, looking him over.

He looked as imperious as he always did: immaculately dressed and groomed, an air about him as though he could never be challenged. There was also that serious look in his eye again, a twitch in the corner of his mouth that said something was on his mind, and he'd even allowed himself to grow little crow's feet at the corner of his eyes.

That was new.

"Is something bothering you, Father?"

He didn't seemed surprised that she had picked it up. "Many things, Artemis. None of your concern."

"But they are Apollon's, then?" She gave him a bemused smile, her gaze slipping to her brother and his mortal as they walked the path. "He will be too busy to care, I think. He's in love again."

"Bitter about that?"

She grit her teeth. "I am not bitter."

"You look bitter. You're spying."

"I'm researching," she argued, wanting to stamp her foot like a little girl throwing a tantrum. She resisted at last second.

Zeus laughed, head thrown back, the sound like a roar in the trees. A few birds took flight in fear. Artemis' scowl deepened. How any woman - or man - had been tempted by this brute of a jackass was beyond her. Yet another thing about love and lust that she had no idea about and wasn't sure she ever wanted to.

"Apollon won't be busy for much longer," he told her in a hushed whisper, as if it were some secret.

Brow furrowing, a flicker of confusion moved through her. And what did that mean, exactly? What did Zeus know about her brother that she didn't?

His hand came up, caressing her wild tangle of hair, brushing it back from her face. There was a soft look he was giving her, only adding to the confusion brewing within her. As he cupped her cheek, she leaned into the warmth of his hand - a little girl seeking her father's attentions.

"You are as worrisome as he is," Zeus told her.

"I'm not the one causing mortals to flee in fright," she said gently.

"No, but you have helped to kill them. For him. Because they have crossed you. You don't really understand them, do you?"

"What's there to understand, Father? And who are you to lecture about the deaths of mortals? None of us have clean hands. That's the nature of being a god."

He shook his head slowly, letting his hand drop from her cheek. There was an absence that pierced her from the loss. How sad. "At least your emotions keep you in check, Artemis. It's a blessing you should be proud of."

Zeus sounded disappointed in her, however.


	3. The Creation of Monsters

**Note:** And with this chapter, pre-game history is complete.

Apollon was gone.

It was a sudden, open gash in Artemis' consciousness. The arrow she had nocked and drawn back fell short of its target, and the rabbit scampered off. She cursed under her breath, but it was a hollow noise. That place where her brother always was, on the edge of her mind, a gentle presence that had been there since before their birth, was empty. Silence filled it.

She focused in on the arrow laying limply on the forest floor. It had been so long since she had ever missed her target that it seemed impossible.

Picking up the arrow, she held it tightly in her grip before snapping the shaft with pressure applied by her thumb.

Her father, it had to be. His cryptic words came rushing back to her from a few months back. He had said something about occupying Apollon's attentions, hadn't he? Her jaw clenched, teeth grinding together until she felt the first spikes of pain.

No, she couldn't panic. Couldn't let her fine control over her emotions slip. Calmly, she would search for that miserable idiot, and she would realize that her fears were for nothing.

And if not? Gaea help her father when she found him.

Artemis stopped first in Troy. She sat beneath the towering statue of her brother in his temple until his princess stepped inside. The girl, Cassandra, approached her cautiously. Her steps were small, light, eyes wide with fear when she looked upon the goddess. There was a small, terrible part of Artemis that enjoyed the look.

"Lady Artemis," the princess gasped, sweeping into a low bow, the curls of her dark hair brushing against the stone floor.

"Princess Cassandra," Artemis greeted pleasantly enough. She got to her feet gracefully, bare skin brushing against stone as she stretched herself out. As if she had been waiting for the princess to arrive, to make the girl feel all the more guiltier for whatever reason. "Where is my brother?"

The princess thinned her lips out for a moment, eyes wide. Was it fear that sent her heart skittering like that, or worry?

"He did not send you?"

Artemis gave a tight shake of her head, stomach sinking. She had been hoping he would make this search easier on her. "Why would he? Have you done something that would cause need for that?"

The girl had the decency to blush with shame, at least. Her mouth opened, as if she were going to say something, but Artemis could see the cogs turning in her mind as she thought better of it. Instead, Cassandra shook her head. "I haven't seen him."

That was the truth. Artemis didn't have her brother's gift for it, but she could see the stirrings of relief in Cassandra's eyes. She was glad to have not seen Apollon, and Artemis wondered what had happened since she had stopped paying attention to them.

She made no sound as she walked down the path past the princess. She was taller than the girl, towering over her by almost a head. Cassandra was forced to tilt her head back to stare up at the goddess.

"I do hope you find him, Lady Artemis," she murmured. Now that one did seem more like a lie.

"I will," Artemis promised. Her fingers curled around one of Cassandra's dark curls. "And when I do, you will not hurt my brother. Mortals don't tend to last long who do."

The princess went as white as Artemis' hair.

**x**

The maenads were not much more help, but then, Artemis hadn't expected them to be. Clawing, achingly mad hands reached for her, dirtying her _chiton_, pawing at her bare skin. Fingers twirled in her hair, bodies pressed against hers.

Her patience snapped somewhere in the midst of the conversation, one of the nymphs shrieking away as an arrow landed in her gut.

One of the satyrs laughed. "Darling, you're lucky that's where she aimed." He led the nymph away with a leering grin.

Artemis curled her lip in disgust. With followers like these, she couldn't _imagine_ why Dionysus would hide away.

One of the more insane - if more _insistent_ - maenads sighed. "Forgive our sister," she told the goddess in a slurring words, a wicked smile on her lips. She could eat Artemis up, that smile said.

Artemis didn't quite like the way it made her feel - less disgusted, more… something.

"She's a moron," Artemis growled.

"She's new and didn't realize that anyone who would dare to come visit the domain of our lord wouldn't be in the partying mood."

"Where is Dionysus, then? If my brother isn't here, then surely your lord would know." Nevermind that Dionysus was also her brother. Recounting her familial connections would cause anyone to have a headache, especially drunk, angry nymphs.

That gave the maenad pause, and she flashed a more regretful smile at the goddess. "We aren't sure," she said softly, barely a breath under her voice. Artemis heard it all the same.

"He disappeared, then?"

The nymph gave a nod. "We haven't seen our lord in a good number of days. That's why the partying is a little bit more frisky than usual."

It didn't seem friskier to Artemis at all, but nobody was asking her for her opinion on the matter.

"We did see Zeus, though," another satyr chimed in, hooves scraping the dirt as he moved in closer to Artemis.

She frowned and clenched her jaw. "Thank you. I'll, er, leave you to your festivities, then."

Shouldering her bow and ignoring the pitiful cries of the wounded maenad among the other sounds of the eternal party, Artemis made a hasty escape.

**x**

The next arrow that she shot was directed at her father's throne, who missed having it pierce the middle of his forehead just barely as he leapt out of the way. Lightning crackled at his fingertips, but she refused to cower.

"Where is Apollon?"

"You dare come and attack me?" Zeus fired back.

She nocked another arrow and aimed it at his heart. "I brought the wolves as well, in case you thought I wasn't serious."

Artemis was playing a dangerous game here. Immortality was a joke, and he was her father, after all. He could find some suitable enough punishment for her. Like binding her to a husband, taking the forests from her, making her a slave.

She didn't care, in that moment. All she cared about was finding her brother and making sure that Zeus hadn't come up with some scheme. It was a Zeus-like thing to do.

He sighed, holding up one hand to placate her. "Artemis, lower your bow."

"Tell me where he is. Tell me what you're doing! Did you take Dionysus as well? What are you thinking? We're on the verge of a civil war, between Troy and Greece and this is what you decide to do?" She fired her words much like arrows, watching the way they sunk into his body until he could do nothing more than sigh again.

"There are more important things than Greece and Troy," he said carefully, taking a step closer to her.

She growled and kept him in his place. "What does that have to do with Apollon? Or that fool?" She did lower her bow, though, placing the arrow back in her quiver.

"They're fine. For now."

"For now. Is that supposed to comfort me? You're ignoring my questions!"

With the danger of being shot gone, Zeus came forward again, placing his hands on her shoulders. Maybe it was supposed to be comforting or placating, but it felt condescending. His hands weighed her down. "Your brothers, as well as Hades, are a danger. To themselves, to us, to humanity."

Artemis gave him a blank look. "Alright?"

"I've taken them to a place where they might fix that before they end up destroying everything we've worked for."

She didn't buy it. She didn't even try to buy it, and Zeus could see that from the look on her face.

"I want to go," she told him quietly. The ache that was Apollon was too much, heavier than Zeus' hands. "If you took Apollon away to help him, then I want to be there to help him out as well."

He shook his head, dark blond curls moving with the force. "No."

"Yes," she argued. "Who else is he going to listen to but me? He won't listen to you. And Dionysus is a bad influence."

"Hades-"

"Is a miserable pushover, for being the lord of the dead," Artemis spat.

A weary look crossed her father's face, as well as irritation. But she had sunk her teeth into this one, and only imprisonment was going to keep her from her brother.

"You call Dionysus a bad influence, but what have you done for Apollon to change his fate?" Zeus asked her. "You take him in, let him think that everything will be fine with the way he acts. You've helped facilitate this process. You're part of why he has to learn."

Artemis snapped back as though she'd been struck. She would have preferred that. An ache swelled over her, her lips parting for silent words that she couldn't give voice to.

"It's my fault that he's become too dangerous to stay here?"

He let go of her, stepping away now. "You didn't help."

Guilt stabbed her, icy and painful. Dionysus' words came back to her. She had coddled him. She was making him _dangerous_, her stupid brother. The moron who fell in love too easily and smiled so brightly and could be a force to reckon with if crossed and cried when he got hurt.

She stamped her foot on the marble floor. "Then all the more reason to take me to him. If I made him a monster, then I'm one too. Let me fix it."

"No."

Rage screamed like fire in her veins. "Take me to him, Father. Take me to him, or so help me, the fear Selene caused when she met with Endymion will be like _nothing_ compared to what I will do to this world."

He watched his with a cautious gaze, cold and calculating. She reached a hand out, fingers squeezing slowly into a fist as the sky outside of Olympus began to darken. She would cast the world into a darkness so black, there would be no hope. No relief. Crops would die. The tides would stop flowing.

"Send me to him."

Zeus gave her a grim smile. "The Fates said it would come to this. I had hoped they would be wrong, but then… I never expected Apollon to be the herald of the world's destruction, either."


	4. The Academy

**Note: 8c sorry for the late update**

"Artemis!"

The goddess woke up surrounded by trees instead of the polished marble of Olympus. She stared into the fractured sunlight the leaves made to scatter along the ground. She knew that voice and heaved a sigh of relief.

Maybe it had just been a strange dream, the confrontation with her father and the things he had told her.

Artemis closed her eyes again, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Apollon."

His shadow drifted over her, and when she opened her eyes again, she stared up at her brother. A wrinkle puckered at his brow, as though he were worried. And what would he have to worry about, exactly? Her forest-

But it didn't feel like home. It didn't smell like hers or feel that way.

Before that feeling could settle completely, she really got a good look at her brother. His hair seemed more golden, cropped around his ears. No radiant swirls of sunlight in his skin, barely any skin in general.

"What have you done to yourself?" she snapped as she scrambled quickly to her feet.

Her hand reached out, fingertips pressing to his chest briefly before skirting them up into his hair. She tugged at it, and he winced.

"_Artemis_," he whined. "You look different too!" Batting her hand away from him, he tilted her chin up, narrowing his eyes as he got a good look at her. "You look good with short hair."

A frisson of rage moved through her veins as she reached up to touch the ends of her hair. Short, like he said. It just barely scraped along her shoulders, and she mourned for her braid suddenly. Her lips parted, but what could she say. It was hair, just hair.

Her jaw clenched. It was more than just hair. It was the whole idea of what her father was doing, now that it was absolutely clear that he had brought her to Apollon like she had asked.

"Where are we?"

Apollon shrugged, bright green eyes flitting around them. "Can we get out of here? There's a school behind us."

A school. This was her father's plan? Send Apollon to school?

She was quiet for a second. "Your eyes, they're green."

They sparkled when he grinned. "Yours, too! It makes you look…"

She frowned. "What."

"Soft."

Soft. He looked electric, and she looked soft. _Zeus_. That was his doing, like some sort of punished. With a scowl now, she stared down at herself, the short skirt, the blazer snug around her torso, knee high socks.

Artemis should have just shot him.

Apollon took her hand, squeezing it gently. He was warm, as he always was. They were unfamiliar, but that touch wasn't. She didn't relax, but a certain amount of tension released from her shoulders. Squeezing his hand back, she took the lead.

"Come on. Let's go figure out what's happening here."

She could have told him, she realized. She could have told her brother why they were here, why Zeus had taken him in the first place. She thought of the look of relief on Cassandra's face when the princess admitted to having not seen the god, and the accusatory words of her father when he laid the blame for Apollon's fate at her feet.

Artemis could tell Apollon right now.

She chose not to, the indecision rolling in her gut like a black wave. Better that he didn't know. Better that she helped him in silence.

"We should find a mirror," Apollon said suddenly, and she jolted out of her own thoughts.

"A mirror?" She said it sluggishly, like she was trying to catch up between her own problems and her brother's thoughts.

"So we can see what we look like."

That sounded like a terrible idea to Artemis, who was already irritated by the fact that her clothes had been changed and that her hair had been cut. Her feet were bound by shoes, and she hated being separated from the world like this. She was cut off from nature, which was ridiculous. All she had to do was take the damn things off.

"You look like your head's going to explode at the idea," he laughed, arm snaking around her waist now instead. He hugged her as they walked, but she still wore a sour expression.

She wished she could say she wasn't vain, but she was. Instead of replying to him, she changed the subject. "Have you seen Dionysus around anywhere?"

Apollon shook his head. "Should I have?"

"He's here." Zeus hadn't said in so many words that their half-brother _was_ here, but she knew that he was.

"Are you gaining the gift of prophecy now?"

She flashed him a smile. "Worried I might edge you out?"

"Only if you also decide to take over the sun," he pouted. "You're strong enough to drive both."

That made her feel good, to be acknowledged like that. To be seen as powerful when she knew how much of their family talked about her behind her back. Then again, she could always trust Apollon to be there for her.

Just like she was always there for him, too.

The building that loomed before them outside of the protection of the forest was large, almost spiraling. It could house hundreds of people, Artemis thought, as she looked it over. Maybe even more. How many of them had her father brought? Was he punishing all of the Greeks for some indiscretion or anything?

She clenched her jaw as her eyes swept over the clean yard, the gardens, the fields, the fences.

And who then would judge Zeus?

Who would be the one to tell her father where and how and why he was wrong?

"Wow," Apollon said, and she glanced at him. His eyes were wide. "What's going on, you think?"

"Something stupid," she muttered.

It wasn't stupid, she thought. It definitely wasn't, if this was the place that was supposed to make her brother better. Stronger. Less likely to blow up. She watched him curiously as he left her behind, looking over everything with the excitement of a little boy.

How could he be the one who was dangerous to mankind? What could make him decide to turn his back like that?

She hadn't realized that he was watching her until he clucked his tongue. A worried look puckered at his eyebrows, mouth drawn into a pout, green eyes large as he looked at her.

"Are you okay, Artemis? Did something happen?"

_Tell him_.

Artemis shook her head, feeling her shorn hair scrape against her neck as she did so. "I just don't like this place."

That, at least, wasn't a lie. She missed home fiercely, but she was here because she had asked to be. Because she had to save her brother from himself and prove to her father, to Dionysus, that she didn't just coddle him.

"Let's go inside."

The building was creepily empty, their footsteps echoing along the halls as they checked their surroundings out. A churning pit of uncertainty had wedged itself into her gut at this point, but she kept it off of her face. Apollon would notice it, if he hadn't already. And he was excited. She couldn't take that from him.

"So is this where we're going to staying, then? I wonder why."

"Because our father is terrible," she found herself muttering.

"Aha!" Apollon spun on her. "I knew it. You _know_ something."

She puffed up a bit. "Just that it's Zeus who brought us here."

"And that Dee-Dee is here."

"And Uncle Hades."

His eyes darkened a bit, thoughtful, angry, before the shadows passed. "I like Uncle Hades. This will be fun, if we ignore Zeus."

Artemis bit back a sigh. Apollon liked everyone. It would make no difference to point out that to him.

Hating Zeus, however, was universal. Particularly among his children.

"We can't ignore him. It's not his style to be ignored."

She wrapped her arms around herself as they walked, listening the empty echo.

"More people will be here though, won't they?" Apollon asked. "It doesn't make sense to have four people in a place so big. And where is this place anyway? How do we get home?"

"No idea."

To any of it. She had no answers.

"We should split up," she suggested.

There was that puppy look again, like he couldn't believe she'd say such a thing. The most powerful god in the world, and here he was, a mess of emotions and needing the hand of his sister.

She wanted to say that there was no way he could be what her father said he was fated for.

But how many lovers had he killed? How many had she killed for him because he wanted her to?

She bit her lip gently.

If he asked her to help him, would she do it?

Artemis gave him a flat look before rolling her eyes. "You're a big boy, and it's not like I'd never be able to find you." That tether between them had come back, although much more faintly than it had been back home. "It makes more sense to spread out than to keep together."

He listened to her, thinking it over before nodding. "You're right. Okay, I'll go see what I can find."

Before he could leave, she reached out, her fingers touching the back of his hand. "Let's meet in the courtyard in an hour."

Another nod from him, and then he was gone.

/

Artemis didn't find anything, although she did hear the voices of others. None she recognized, none that made her feel comfortable enough to search them out. All male. Every voice that floated to her from around a corner belonged to a boy, and that set her teeth on edge.

What she did find, without really wanting to, was a mirror.

She sucked in a breath. Choppy dark hair, almost black as the night without the moon. That _ass_. That literal donkey. Her fingers touched the frayed ends of her once beautiful hair, silver like starlight, silver like the moon, and he had taken it from her. He had given her what she had threatened, and she shouldn't be as bothered by aesthetics like this. Shouldn't have felt so kicked on the ground because of hair color, because of length, because what did appearances mean to her?

She was wild and free. She belonged to nature and the hunt and to the lives and deaths of the animals she had under her care. She belonged to the night sky and the people who sought her comfort.

But she was still selfish and proud, as all gods were, and it hurt to lose something that she had loved so much.

Staring back at her with fury were the green eyes she had seen Apollon sport. She was different, and yet the same still. Still small, still lithe. The same crooked nose and tanned skin and furious pucker of a mouth.

Hair and eyes didn't make her, foreign clothes and the prison of boots didn't define her, but that didn't make her any less angry for losing them.

"Oh!"

The startled exclamation nearly had her jumping out of her skin, but Artemis was able to keep her poised presence. Through the mirror's reflection, she was able to see the other girl that had wandered into the room behind her.

Another girl. One that she didn't recognize.

A relieved smile tugged at the pale girl's mouth as she pressed a hand to her heart. She wore the same sort of uniform that Artemis had been dressed in. Another victim of her father's schemes? But where had she come from.

Her hazel eyes were large as they took Artemis in. "I'm sorry, I… I didn't mean to interrupt you. I've been - well sort of lost, I suppose. And you're the first girl I've seen here."

Artemis finally turned around to face the girl. "Have you seen others, then?"

The girl hesitated before nodding. "A few. All boys. Haven't you seen them too?"

She shook her head. "I know my brothers are here, and I heard others, but you're the first person I've seen."

Her shoulders relaxed, the tension she'd been holding decreasing in slow increments. Better this girl than one of those boys, she figured.

"I was worried I'd be the only girl," she laughed softly, but it didn't seem like an amusing statement to Artemis.

Being stranded with boys sounded awful.

Was that the fate she had almost signed up for in order to save her brother? She suppressed a shudder at the thought.

"I'm Yui," the girl introduced herself with a bright smile.

"Artemis," she said in return.

"I'm glad you're here, Artemis."

She wasn't so sure she would be, but didn't tell Yui that.


	5. Human Hearts

**Note:** This scene will obviously not be word for word, as that is plagiarism and also too much work to transcribe, so I hope you enjoy it anyway c:

Lost was a good way of putting it, but Yui knew more than Artemis did at least. She told Artemis that she was supposed to learn with the gods, not that it made any sense to the goddess at all. They left the room together, Yui quietly chatting away.

"Artemis!"

Apollon stood at the end of the hallway, waving wildly in excitement. A relieved smile came to her face. As at ease as Yui put her, nothing was better than her brother's face.

Turning her head, Artemis whispered from the corner of her mouth, "That's my brother."

"Oh!" Yui nodded. "Apollon did say that we needed to find someone special, but I guess he kind of forgot to tell me who we were looking for exactly."

That got a laugh out of the goddess. "Yeah, that's really not surprising."

Apollon jogged over to them, wide grin spread across his face. His gaze kept falling on Yui, eyes bright, and Artemis got that uncomfortable niggling in her stomach that she always got whenever her brother found someone new to be interested in.

_Not again_, she thought to herself, swallowing the words down. Swallowing her fears down.

"I'm glad the fairy found you, Artemis," Apollon chirped.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at him. "You know she's a human right."

A blush spread across Yui's face, bright red. Artemis could almost feel the heat from her cheeks. "It - um, yes he does."

"Ah." She turned to her brother, leveling an even gaze at him, and he rubbed the back of his neck. Not now, she wanted to tell him. Not here.

It would be useless, though. Apollon was designed to love and be loved in return, his very existence drawing people in to him.

Artemis ran her fingers through her hair as the three of them began walking. "So what do we know about this place?"

"It's an island in the middle of nowhere," Apollon supplied.

"And we're going to be learning," Yui answered.

Strange at how easily the human girl fell in with them, keeping even steps. She was snug in the middle, quiet, an easy fit. That had never happened before, but then again, nobody had dared to fit between the twins. Not even Dionysus would wedge himself in that spot.

Thank everything, because Artemis couldn't imagine a worse fate than having him tug along _all the time_.

They were coming up on a large foyer when a familiar voice boomed out around them. It seemed to echo through the halls, and in her skull as well.

"Now that we have all arrived, we can discuss why you are all here."

At the top of the staircase, in all of his terrible glory, stood her father. Tall, magnificent, not a single gold strand of hair out of place. His cape fluttered, even when there was no wind inside of the academy. He was really pulling out the stops here.

Apollon and Artemis exchanged a narrow-eyed glance as Yui whispered, "Zeus."

There were others in the room, Artemis finally noticed once their own clamor pierced through her father's haze. Dionysus and Uncle Hades, of course, but clusters of others, too. Gods. They had to be gods. Two to the right of them, three above. Separated, she supposed, by their type. But how had her father been able to do this?

How had he gained so much power that the other kings would even allow him to take away their own? Or had he simply not ask for permission?

She spared another glance his way as he spoke and moved down the stairs, closer to them but still above them. He was, after all, the type to not care for permission.

"What is this?" An angry voice called out, matching the small frame of an angry god as he dared to inch toward her father.

"This is my academy," Zeus answered smoothly.

Helpful, of course.

"You have all been sent here to learn about humanity. And you have no choice in the matter."

Except for herself, she realized, as the others rose in anger. She had asked to be here. She had wanted to be here, for her brother. And now she was trapped on an island with no way out except for graduation. To learn the human heart.

She looked at Apollon and took a deep breath.

Her father was introducing them now, calling them out as if he had every right to name them for who they were.

Susanoo, god of the sea. Tsukiyomi, god of the moon. Balder, god of light. Loki, god of fire. Thor, god of thunder. Hades, god of the dead. Dionysus, god of fertility. Apollon, god of the sun.

"And," Zeus hissed with a slick grin, his golden eyes on her. "The Greek goddess of the hunt, Artemis."

The only woman. The only goddess.

Heads turned toward her, curious, angry, uncertain. She stared back blankly. And the novelty quickly wore off as Zeus' words finally settled in on them.

There was the anger again.

"You can't be serious!" Loki, god of fire, sneered.

"Return my brother and I back to our home!" came Susanoo, god of water.

Fire erupted in Loki's hand. Susanoo took an aggressive step forward. They attacked.

Artemis watched her father. He was powerful, terrifying, amazing. But even he couldn't hold off angry gods, hellbent on seeing him punished for presuming he could order them to do anything, that he could steal them and hold them hostage to do something as crazy as connect with humanity once more.

So what was his plan? What did he want to do? What _could_ he do?

"I'm afraid that your powers will be useless against me," the king of gods proclaimed.

Apollon inhaled sharply.

"I will bind your powers. They cannot be removed or broken, except when you prove that you are ready for graduation."

Zeus waved his staff, and a flash of bright light enveloped each of them in the room briefly. All of them except for the one human in attendance at this poor excuse for her father's ego.

Apollon growled as the ring flashed into existence on his hand, bright gold with a blue-green stone. Immediately he began to tug at it, but to no avail. It wouldn't be removed until he was ready.

Would she be bound, too? Why? She wasn't supposed to be here originally. She wasn't a threat to humanity. She didn't need to be connection.

Gently, almost afraid, Yui touched her wrist, voice low. "It's in your hair, Artemis."

"In my hair?"

Pale fingers wrapped around her wrist, and Yui brought Artemis' own hand up until her fingers felt along the length of the barrette in her hair. _A barrette_. Permanently tugging her dark hair from her face on the left side. Of all the horrible, awful things…

She growled, and Yui paled considerably.

"It's beautiful!" the girl proclaimed, and then a shy smile creeped over her face. "There's a pearl in it, too. It kind of looks like the moon."

Apollon looked over at her now, eyeing her face before eyeing her own shackle. He smiled, too, as if that could solve this problem. As if she should be okay with being unable to access the well of her power that she had threatened Zeus with not so long ago.

"See, he didn't forget about that part."

She hated having a twin sometimes.

"What's the point of this?" Artemis finally spoke up.

Her father smiled at her. "I already told you what the point was."

The others, she was sure, would think he meant the school. She knew differently. This was about the favored son and his fate because he couldn't ever keep it in his pants.

Apollon's hand skimmed across hers, warm and comforting. She hooked her pinky with his briefly before they dropped contact. She didn't want to be a show in front of these people that she knew nothing about.

Another wave of his hand, and the ceiling opened up. A glass jar descended. "This is what the point is, Artemis. This is your goal. Fill it up with everything you have learned, and you will be allowed to leave. Fail, and you will remain here." His gaze swept over the room as everyone fell silent finally. "Forever."

The pandemonium began again, several voices ringing at once in anger, disbelief, fear.

That was her goal, then. To get Apollon to understand. To understand herself, so that she could leave with him. She was here now, enrolled in this pitiful excuse for an academy, shackled like the rest of them. She would have to learn if she was going to leave with Apollon.

Zeus settled his gaze on Yui now, who audibly gulped. "Kusanagi Yui."

"Y-yes," the girl said.

"You will be responsible for leading them all toward graduation. You must help them understand the human heart."

"Yes, sir." She bowed.

What a horrible fate to be placed on this poor girl's shoulders. One girl to soothe this crowd. It was a game that Artemis had no doubt her father loved to play. He should be the one down here, learning along with the rest of them.

"One last thing before you are dismissed," Zeus said. He waved his hand, and out of the shadows stepped another man. Another god. "This is Thoth, the Egyptian god of knowledge. He will be your teacher. And these spirits" - more dramatic gestures that Artemis did not refuse to roll her eyes at - "will be your classmates."

Dozens of students appeared in a flash, spirits and nymphs that she was sure her father had dragged from home without their permission as well.

"They came from nowhere," Yui said with such awe, that Artemis had to suppress a growl.

They were so eternally screwed.

"I will see you all at orientation tomorrow morning."

**/**

"He's gone insane," Dionysus laughed later as they crowded into the main room of their living quarters. Her lanky brother perched on the arm of a couch, rubbing his chin. "I know madness, and that's it."

"He's an egotistical ass," Artemis muttered. "It has nothing to do with madness."

"Artemis is right," Apollon agreed with a nod.

Hades snorted from his corner, leaning back against the wall. "He has always liked to prove that he can do whatever he wants."

Artemis frowned as she flopped onto the couch. "Maybe it will be a good opportunity for us, though."

Three pairs of eyes turned to her. Shock rolled off of them. She pressed her lips together, trying to bite back down the initial rush of anger. She was cool. She was collected. The calm of the storm and the hope in the night.

"Did your personality change with your hair?" Dionysus asked as he leaned over, tugging on the short, black strands hard enough to pull her head.

She slapped his hand away from her. "Knock it off. I don't need my powers to hurt you still."

"Artemis," Apollon warned, looking like a kicked puppy. "Don't threaten Dee-Dee." He wedged himself in between her and their brother, however. An arm came around her shoulders, tugging her in closer to him.

Quietly, Dionysus watched them, but the look in his green eyes said it all. Their conversation after Daphne came back to her, as it always did. As if it was the only significant thing they had ever talked about.

This time, though, he was coddling _her_, and there was nothing that Dionysus could say about it.

"I think Artemis is right!" Apollon exclaimed. His enthusiasm was crushing. "We should give this a shot, yeah? See what happens here. I don't agree with Zeus, but it can't hurt."

Dionysus shrugged. "Why not? I didn't have anything better to do."

Hades moved closer to them, fists clenched at his side. He stared down at Artemis, and she held his gaze. "Why do you think we should?"

Her lips pursed. "Because we're family. I don't want to be trapped here with you forever, and I don't want us to be trapped at all."

**/**

It was early the next morning, before this supposed school orientation was to begin. Artemis needed to blow off steam, to release the tension building up inside of her. Buildings were making her sick, as if the long exposure to enclosed places would threaten to crush her. She needed fresh air and the smell of dirt and trees. She wanted to feel the wind whispering through leaves and the humming of hearts in the wild.

She wanted to be free, but that was a choice she had given up.

Instead, she had found gym equipment. Her own bow had been left behind, but the one the academy provided wasn't too shabby. She found a training dummy, thanks to the help of a few early risers amongst the other students, dragging it with her as she made to go outside.

First, though, she had to do something else with her target. Art supplies were easy to find, and by the time she was finished, her dummy looked much like a crude version of her father.

Perfect.

The area between the academy and the forest was blissfully empty of any soul. She set her dummy up, tested her weapon, and nocked her first arrow. It whistled as it flew through the air, then thunked as it wedged itself into her father's avatar. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as arrow after arrow zipped into the dummy. She made a straight line from lower torso to the middle of the forehead.

Well, she might have been stuck in what was a mostly human body, but it did nothing to dampen her skills.

Good. There were only so many slights that Artemis would take.

"Um."

The voice startled her. Whether she was too into her zone or if some of her skills had faded away, someone was able to sneak up on her. Even as she whirled around, tip of the arrow pointed at her intruder, Artemis recognized the high, feminine voice.

"Yui," she said calmly. Her arms held taut for a moment longer before she finally dropped them, and her bow.

Yui breathed a loud sigh of relief, but her eyes remained wide. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to - I keep finding myself intruding on you, huh?"

Artemis gave her a crooked smile. "Not to worry. I've had worse intruders before."

Yui smiled back, nodding. She clasped her hands behind her back before glancing over at the target dummy. If she noticed the similarities between it and Zeus, she never mentioned them. "You're goddess of the hunt, right? No wonder you're such a good shot."

"Among other things." Artemis lifted a finger to point it to the sky. "I am the goddess of the moon as well. My brother and I control the skies."

Well, actually, Zeus did the sky thing, but he didn't matter right now.

"But thank you," she finally said. People often paid Artemis compliments - that was part of being a god. But it wasn't often said with such good-natured honesty and awe behind the words. Her maidens, of course, would. Those who respected her.

"Why hunting?" Yui asked as she stepped closer.

"I like the chase," Artemis told her. "I've never been fond of being hunted, but being the hunter? There's freedom in it. In knowing you're the one that holds the power."

Her tone was wistful. Her feet ached to be free of her boots, her hair flying in the wind, the sharp smell of the forest in her nose. It hadn't even been a day, and she was missing it fiercely.

"Is power that important?"

It felt like a test without actually being one.

_Is_ power that important?

"Depends on the power," she answered carefully. "Depends on how you use it, too." Humans used power horribly. They corrupted it. They corrupted themselves. It was nature.

Gods weren't much better.

If she was being tested on how far she would go for power, she would probably fail.

"I like being free," she said. "I like having the power to choose my own destiny."

At that, Yui's face lit up, and Artemis was struck with how pretty she was. Not beautiful in the way she was used to seeing beautiful women, goddess or mortal. But innocent and soft and eager. She was heartfelt, and that gave her the kind of light she was attracted to.

That Apollon was attracted to.

"I'd like to think that we're not trapped into one fate," Yui told her quietly. "That we can choose what path we want to go on."

"I can see why Zeus chose you to be our human representative." This was the kind of thinking, the kind of help, her brother would need in order to change his fate.

"I hope I can be of help. I really don't know what I can teach."

Artemis lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "We will see. Come, we should get going back to the school if we're going to be ready for this orientation thing."

"Right." Yui nodded and was happy to follow Artemis as she led the way. They were quiet until they reached the building again. "Aren't you going to ask why I was out?"

Artemis shook her head. "Besides stumbling on me again?"

"An accident, really!" Yui bit her lip. "I couldn't sleep. It's all so overwhelming. Going to school with gods, being responsible for helping you all out."

"It is a strange place to find yourself in," Artemis said in sympathy. "We could fail, and we could blame you. Some might. We are petty and quick to anger by nature."

Yui's face fell, and for that, Artemis felt bad for being so blunt. The girl was seeking comfort, and here she was, failing at her own duties to humanity.

She reached out, fingertips brushing along Yui's bare arm. "What I mean to say is, don't stress over what's going to happen. You can't do anything more than your best, and you're really not responsible for how we behave or our choices. I know you'll do fine."

"How?"

"I have hope."


	6. Competition

**Note: **this marks the introduction of my numerals to help with scene breaks. I'll go back and fix the others.

**i.**

She wasn't surprised that literally nobody showed up to the pre-orientation ceremony. The only reason she had bothered to show up was because it was for Apollon's benefit - who had cajoled - and because she had said to Yui that she would.

Artemis was many things, but she tried to not be much of a liar. Especially not now, she supposed, all things considered.

Her legs dangled over the side of the stage as she looked at her fellow gods trapped in her father's mess. A fellow moon god and another god of light. She watched them carefully as they pumped Yui of information, listening with half a ear.

Her gaze settled on Balder for the moment, as if drawn to him. He was, in so many ways, like her brother. At least in appearance and magnetism. She couldn't claim to know him at all, and so she couldn't actually decide what kind of a man he was. But his lips curled up happily, and there was a softness in his eyes that made her want to relax and bask in his glow.

She glanced at Apollon from the corner of her eye as he leaned forward excitedly, thrumming with more energy than anyone could possibly handle.

And then she watched Tsukiyomi, the Japanese god of the moon. How strange for her to see a god over her domain, when she was so used to goddesses. Before her, there had been Selene, who had passed her mantle to her and to Hecate.

"What do you think, Artemis?"

Artemis blinked, a faint heat washing over her face when all sets of eyes finally settled on her. Her lips parted. "What."

She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even really been paying attention to the conversation. She had been watching, as she always did. Rubbing a hand over her face, as if that could rid herself of the blush, her lips pulled into a tight smile.

Yui smiled kindly at her while her brother laughed. "Artemis never listens to anyone," Apollon whispered loudly, as if he were telling the others a secret.

She grimaced. "I listen."

"We were just suggesting that we go out and see if we can convince the others to come with us to our ceremony later," Balder informed her. His mouth had quirked up as well, as if he wanted to laugh but also respect her.

It didn't stop Artemis from imagining punching him. "Sounds like a good idea."

Apollon's hand was warm as he rested it on her thigh. "Also, we're not allowed to make sacrifices for this."

"If you're not careful, I might sacrifice you anyway," Artemis told him as she brushed his hand away. She slid off the stage, her boots hitting the floor with a loud thump. Looking up at Yui, she winked to let her know that it was a joke. "No time to waste if we're going to get this place in order."

/

"What were you thinking about?" Apollon asked her after they had split from the others on their search.

"I was just sizing the others up," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We're not competing against them," her brother pointed out. As if he thought that's what she would be trying to do.

Maybe it was, she thought, even if she hadn't realized it herself. She spent so much time out of the way of others, interacting with people that weren't her maidens was strange. The last one had been Orion, so very long ago that sometimes she forgot what he had looked like.

A frown tugged at her lips.

They weren't competition. They were all pawns in Zeus' madness, and that much was obvious. And she didn't think, for all of her father's ego, that he had designed this place as a competition to be won, although that would have been much easier for Artemis to accept. To deal with. She was a winner.

But she so often saw people as targets, as prey, that it wasn't easy to shake off that way of thinking just because she'd spent less than a day in a mortal body.

"I know," she said finally. "I know they're not."

"I feel like there's a but coming on here. And there shouldn't be." Apollon smiled brightly at her. "Zeus said that we all have the same goal for graduation! So we should all work together. That's what we're trying to do now, isn't it?"

But Artemis didn't care about the others graduating. Let them rot on this island. If she could help Dionysus and Hades, sure. Fine. Whatever. It just wasn't her goal, and she wouldn't break herself for them.

For Apollon, though?

She gave him a smile, letting her mouth remain loose, as happy as she could be. His green eyes darkened still anyway. "Yeah, it is. We're going to help Yui help us, and we're going to connect with humanity again."

Apollon was quiet for too long, and she wondered if he would try to call her out, to dig into her soul and make her spill her secrets. He didn't. "Yeah! Now let's go find Dee-Dee."

Of course they would go convince Dionysus first, who would cave as easily as she had when confronted by the sun god.

It would seem, in the end, it was only the six of them, bound together through thin bonds, that kept them working together.

**ii.**

"Artemis!"

The girl groaned, rolling over onto her stomach as she buried her face into her pillow. It smelled clean - it always smelled clean and nothing like the forest at all. Even nearly a week later, she still couldn't get over that. Classes had begun the day after their entrance ceremony, and it was basically the worst thing she had ever dealt with.

If she could hide away like those other losers who never showed up, she would.

Except for one very large, very bright, very _loud_ obstacle in the way of that.

Apollon climbed over her, using her butt as a seat as he straddled her. His fingers dug into her ribs, not sharp enough to hurt, but enough to make her twitch. "You overslept again."

"Go. Away." She tried to buck up, but from this position, it was futile. Damn this stupid, clean pillow.

"We have to go to class!" Apollon argued, poking her again.

"Go without me."

"But how else are we going to graduate? And what about Yui? She's counting on us to help her."

No, nevermind, she was glad she was face first on the bed so that she could silently scream into it. She could already feel it, his stupid threads of romance and intrigue following after the poor mortal girl. She was honestly surprised by the amount of restraint he'd shown her so far, and could only wonder if it was because he was actually treating their father's warning seriously.

_Good_, she thought. But she didn't like the idea of him falling in love again, not when the matter of Cassandra still hung around her neck like a noose.

"You're crushing me," she breathed.

"No I'm not," he said happily, even as he rolled off of her and plopped onto his back next her.

Turning her head, she watched her brother through a filter of dark hair. "Tell Thoth I'm sick."

"Aren't you having fun learning?"

She cuddled against his arm, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "No." Her eyes closed again.

"We have to lead by example."

Why did he have to do this? Why did she have to care so much that she had followed?

"Fine."

Without another glance back at him, she rolled out of bed, grabbed her uniform, and dashed off to the bathroom.

The truth was, she actually didn't mind the learning.

**iii.**

Artemis and Apollon walked together, hand in hand down the hall. She wasn't even really sure who reached for whom, but it was a nice safety net to have her brother's hand in hers. Next to them, Dionysus walked with his hands clasped behind his head, a smarmy smile on his face like he knew her thoughts. Like he could see into her and see her weaknesses.

She wanted to smack the look off of his face.

And then suddenly the warmth that had been anchoring her down was gone in a flash. Apollon pulled away from her, leaving her alone as he jogged to meet up with Yui coming from the other side of the hall.

"Fairy!"

Artemis tried to not gag.

Dionysus nudged her in the head with his elbow. "Don't look so sour."

"I don't look sour."

"Like a rotted grape unfit for wine," he sang under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.

Artemis resisted the urge to throw Dionysus out of the window. Barely. She did, however, shove her annoying brother's elbow hard enough that he stumbled into the wall on the opposite of the hall.

"Dee-Dee, what are you doing falling into the wall?" Apollon asked as his brow creased.

Yui watched him with wide eyes, the worry rolling off of her in waves. "Are you okay?"

"I guess I must have been thrown off balance," Dionysus sighed loudly, ruffling his obnoxiously bright hair into place again.

"It was a push," Artemis said lightly, her chin tilted up so that she could look down her nose at the other god. A hard feat to do, considering that he was much taller than her.

All Dionysus did was give her an amused smile, as if he never took anything she did seriously. Being the son of Zeus must have an idiot gene associated with it, Artemis figured.

Apollon sighed, but Artemis just grinned. She hurriedly linked her arm with Yui's, catching the girl off guard. And her brother as well, as she tugged her toward the classroom. "We wouldn't want to be late now, would we?"

Yui glanced back over her shoulder. "Do you not like Dionysus?" the girl asked in a whisper as they pushed through a crowd of spirits.

"He's fine," Artemis said breezily. "Apollon is closer to him, though."

The girl seemed to be thinking this over. "So you're friends with him because Apollon is, even though you don't really like him? That's nice of you. I know some girls who hate their boyfriend's friends back home."

It took a few moment for those words to process through her mind. They sank slowly, like oil on water, but when the meaning finally hit, Artemis stopped dead. Yui, unaware of that, continued to walk until her arm was jerked back.

"Artemis?" She turned around quickly with concern.

Artemis didn't care that they were in the front of the classroom, that Thoth was getting ready for another _exciting_ class. All she could hear was the implication that her and Apollon were _together intimately_ -

And she threw her head back and let out a cackle that had everyone looking in her direction with curiosity and embarrassment. Yui flushed a bright red, almost as dark as Dionysus' hair, and even that made Artemis laugh harder.

"Wh-what did I say?" Yui asked nervously, glancing around before ducking her head.

"Yui!" Artemis exclaimed between breaths, unable to bring out the words that would be used to correct her new friend. "Apollon - he's my-" She laughed again before striking out and dragging her brother by the sleeve. He gave a yelp of protest.

Pointing between the two of them - one golden, tall, perfect and one small, dark, and angry - Artemis laughed again. "We're twins!"

She was sure that Yui was about to faint from shame.

"What just happened?" Apollon whispered.

"That is _enough!"_ Thoth snapped behind him as Artemis was thrown into another fit of laughter again. He glared at the students all but the three of them found their seats and went silent. "Miss Agrotera, is there a reason why you're bothering my class?"

There was so much she could say, so much she could do. But she had to play nice. Swallowing down the remainder of her giddiness, she gave their teacher - Zeus' pet - a small smile. "No, sir. I hadn't realized class had started yet."

He glared at her, then at Apollon and Yui. "Take your seats."

Apollon watched her with a bemused smile long after class had started. "I don't think I've seen you that happy in a long time."

Artemis shrugged instead of answering him. There were no words to describe how light she felt in this moment, even through the crushing boredom of learning, hard plastic seats, and her boots crashed in around her.

/

It wasn't as though Artemis was unhappy. She pulled herself up on one of the trees in the forest surrounding the academy, letting her bare feet dangle in the air. There were few moments where she could definitely pinpoint being unhappy. It was just that she didn't associate with people long enough for them to see some parts of her. And that was her choice. That made her happy.

So why was her brother's words bothering her? He'd seen her happy before.

He also didn't spend as much time with her as she thought.

Of course he wouldn't have seen her like that, when he was going around, mooning after mortals and nymphs.

With a sigh, she leaned back into the trunk of the tree.

"What are you doing up there?"

Peering down through the foilage, Artemis spotted Yui below her. "Relaxing."

Yui glanced at the ground before looking back up at her again. "Did you climb that tree without shoes?"

Artemis wiggled her toes with a smug sort of look on her face. "Yes."

A slow smile took over Yui's face, even as her eyebrows twitched. As though she couldn't quite figure Artemis out. Then again, that was probably how she felt about all of the gods she was being forced to associate with. Artemis certainly felt that way.

With her solitude ruined, and thus her chance at obsessing over Apollon's words, Artemis climbed back down the tree. She could have told Yui that she wanted peace, but she was missing her girls something terribly, and if she was going to keep running into this mortal who would teach her about the heart, then she might as well gather as much information as she could. It would be the best way to help Apollon.

The ground was cool beneath her bare feet, and she dug her toes into the grass and dirt with a sigh of relief.

Yui hid her giggle behind her hand. "I didn't mean to bother you."

"It's fine. That tree will always be there," Artemis said. "Did you just happen to find me again, or did you actually follow me this time?"

A blush took over her fair skin. "I wanted to apologize. For, um. I should have known that - well, you're really _close_."

Artemis grinned. "You're not the first person to accuse us of having that sort of relationship, it's okay. It's just, I've never heard anyone ask it so innocently before."

Yui rubbed the back of her neck. "So you're not mad."

Leaning down, the goddess picked up her discarded boots. "My laugh was meant to express humor, unless it didn't come off that way."

The blush intensified on the girl's way. "No - I mean, it did, I just wanted to make sure…"

"Like I said, it's not the first time it's happened." She inclined her head toward the building again, indicating that Yui should walk with her. They strolled at a leisurely pace, the boots dangling from Artemis' fingers. "Do you like Apollon, Yui?"

"He's very kind," Yui said softly. "And enthusiastic."

"Like a puppy," Artemis pointed out, but Yui shook her head emphatically.

"It's like he really wants to prove himself. He's trying so hard already, even though the others don't seem to really want and get involved."

Artemis still thought it sounded like he was a puppy, but maybe Yui didn't really understand her brother yet. "That's my brother, always willing to bend to make others happy."

"Really?"

She nodded. "He's a good one, just kind of stupid sometimes."

"You're not really into this place though, are you?"

Artemis pressed her lips together. "What makes you say that?"

"You're like Dionysus, or like the others who don't come to class. Angry at being here."

"Aren't you angry, Yui?" Artemis asked her in a gentle voice, risking a glance at her. The girl looked sad, for a brief second, before realizing that the goddess was watching her.

"I was upset at first, but not angry. I get to spend time with all of you, and we get to learn from each other."

Artemis wrinkled her nose. "You're disgustingly optimistic. Just like Apollon."

Yui grinned brightly. "You said you had hope in me. Isn't that optimistic?"

"I'll lie if you tell anyone about that."

"You're a good one, too," Yui said with a laugh.

But Artemis didn't really feel that way.


End file.
